How to Celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year

The Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in China. It usually lasts for 15 days, starting from the first day of the lunar calendar, with dates ranging from January 21 to February 21 in the Gregorian calendar. During the celebration, Chinese people decorate their homes, hold parades, sing traditional folk songs, and host banquets. If you plan to join the Chinese Lunar New Year festivities, there are several things to consider in order to fully participate in the celebrations while respecting Chinese traditions.

Clean the house. This tradition is rooted in the belief that cleaning the house at this time of year will "sweep away the bad luck and misfortune" accumulated over the past year. The house should be thoroughly cleaned to welcome the good luck that the new year will bring.

• Maintaining cleanliness and fresh air is also an essential part of the New Year celebrations; many people even get haircuts or style their hair differently for the occasion.
• Do not sweep the house on New Year's Day. According to tradition, doing so would "sweep away" the good fortune you've just received. After the first 15 days, or at least a few days into the new year, you're allowed to clean again.

Decorate your home with red. In Chinese culture, red is considered a symbol of good luck and is commonly used to decorate for the New Year. The number "8" is also seen as a symbol of prosperity and wealth, as it sounds similar to the word "fa", which means prosperity and richness in Chinese.

• Paste paper on the window panes. The paper often depicts rural scenes or Chinese mythology, and it's a tradition to have windows face the south or north.
• Display paintings and artworks for the New Year. Traditionally, these artworks depict themes of peace and prosperity, including images of animals and fruits. You can also hang a painting of a "door god" on your door to protect the household from evil spirits and bring blessings.
• Hang couplets. You can write your own couplets about spring or purchase a Chinese calligraphy scroll printed on red paper.
• Hang red paper lanterns. These iconic lanterns are a must-have during the New Year celebration.
• Repaint doors, window frames, or window panes in red!

Display more decorations. Set up displays with handmade crafts and artwork alongside bowls of fruits, flowers, and sweets.

• Place flowers like lotus around the house. The lotus symbolizes rebirth and new growth.
• Place tangerine bowls throughout the house. Tangerines, especially those with leaves, represent happiness in the New Year. Place them in even numbers and eat them in pairs for good luck.
• Display a tray with 8 pieces of candy. The number 8 is considered lucky. You can place any type of candy on the tray or use traditional Chinese sweets made from lotus seeds, longan, peanuts, coconut, red melon seeds, and candied melon.

Send the Kitchen God back to heaven. Seven days before the Lunar New Year (the 23rd day of the last lunar month), the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor about the household's activities and behavior. Therefore, it is important to treat the Kitchen God with respect and prepare offerings including fruits, sweets, water, and other foods. Some people even burn a picture of the Kitchen God to send him back to heaven through the smoke.

• In some regions, there is a tradition of letting tofu sit for two days after the Kitchen God offering, then eating the leftovers with unpleasant smells to show the Jade Emperor their frugality when he verifies the Kitchen God’s report. You may replace this with a more pleasant tofu dish if you prefer!

Dress in formal attire. This is an excellent time to wear traditional Chinese clothing. Traditional Chinese outfits, typically made from silk, can be purchased in Chinatown. Associated with joy, happiness, good fortune, prosperity, and health, red attire ensures you embody the spirit of the New Year. Besides red, yellow is also widely used during the New Year celebrations, or you can learn to combine both colors.

• Avoid wearing all-black outfits during the New Year. Black is considered a color of bad luck and even death. This is a time for luck and rebirth!

Visit Temples. During the Lunar New Year, Chinese people often visit temples and shrines to seek blessings for the year ahead. They light incense and offer prayers. Most temples welcome everyone, not just Chinese people.

• You can find fortune sticks near the entrance of temples or shrines. Pray for a fortune, then shake the container until a stick falls out. A fortune teller will interpret the meaning of your fortune for you.

Set Off Firecrackers. Fireworks are often lit at midnight on New Year's Eve, marking the transition from the old year to the new. Firecrackers used in China and Hong Kong are known for their loud bangs, primarily set off on the ground. The loud noises are intended to scare away evil spirits and prevent them from bringing bad luck.

• Many people continue to light fireworks for up to 15 days, or at least for the first 4-8 days of the new year, before returning to work. In areas with large Chinese communities, you can hear the continuous explosions, and the festive atmosphere is electrifying!
• Some regions and countries prohibit individuals from lighting fireworks, in which case you can enjoy the government's official display of fireworks.

Give Red Envelopes with Money. Adults give lucky money in red envelopes to children, and sometimes also to employees or friends.

Honor Ancestors. This is a time to express gratitude and respect for the efforts of your ancestors. There are many traditional customs to show your appreciation, such as bowing at the graves or ancestral altars, or preparing food and beverages as offerings to the ancestors.

Engage in Joyful Conversations. The Lunar New Year is a time of happiness and good fortune, and it’s also a time to share joy with one another. Avoid arguments, conflicts, or negative attitudes during the holiday, as these will bring bad luck.

• Make frequent visits to your relatives and friends to celebrate the New Year together.
• Greet each other with the phrase "Gong Xi" which means "Congratulations!" You can also use longer phrases like "Gong Hei Fat Choi" in Cantonese or "Gong Xi Fa Chai" in Mandarin.

Learn How to Cook Traditional Chinese Dishes. The main feast is usually held on New Year's Eve, right before the new year begins. There may be a variety of traditional dishes, but some hold special significance:

• Wine, a traditional Chinese beverage, and radish, which symbolize longevity.
• Red chili peppers, representing good luck.
• Rice, symbolizing harmony.
• Whole fish, chicken, or other small animals are often prepared whole and cut at the dinner table. This serves as a reminder of unity and prosperity.

Prepare Dumplings for the Lantern Festival. Chinese people often make dumplings with various fillings to eat during the Lantern Festival (on the 15th day of the first lunar month).

• Each type of dumpling has a special role in the Chinese New Year celebration, as their shape resembles ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots.

Prepare Your Own Feast. If you don't want to dine at a Chinese restaurant, try cooking your own Chinese New Year dishes:

• Make dumplings. A large amount of cabbage or radish is often used to fill dumplings, symbolizing prosperity. You can even hide a coin or small object inside one of the dumplings, and whoever finds it will be lucky.
• Make spring rolls. Known as 'Spring rolls,' named after the Spring Festival (Xuân Tiết), this is the perfect time to enjoy them!
• Cook many fish-related dishes. Fish symbolizes prosperity. Be sure to leave some leftover fish (to be eaten the next day) to bring good luck!
• Fry pot stickers. Pot stickers are a type of dumpling, and all types of dumplings are beloved during the Chinese New Year feast.
• Make noodles with peanut sauce. The long, chewy noodles symbolize longevity and can be served with any sauce.
• Cook shrimp with Chinese lobster sauce. This is a light dish served after the main course. There are also many recipes ranging from traditional Chinese dishes to newer Chinese-American fusion dishes that you can explore.
• Make "tea eggs." While not directly tied to Chinese New Year, this is a unique dish in China that is used both as a decoration and an appetizer.

Find Information About Local Parades. You can look up details of the Chinese New Year parade online or through local newspapers. Sometimes these parades are scheduled for the first weekend of the new year instead of on New Year's Day itself, or even outside the new year celebrations.

• Don't forget to bring your camera, and dress warmly if the weather is cold!
• If you're near San Francisco, where the largest and oldest Asian parade takes place, it’s considered very lucky.

Watch the Parade on TV or Online. In the United States, large parades are often broadcast on local or regional TV channels. In China, CCTV’s annual Spring Festival Gala attracts hundreds of millions of viewers at midnight.

Catch Special Performances. In addition to fireworks, traditional foods, activities, and music, the New Year's parade is a chance to see dancers in dragon and lion costumes.

• Dragon dancers are usually very skilled and in sync, each holding a long pole to control a colorful, undulating dragon. The dragon is a common figure in Chinese mythology and represents the respect and honor of the country and its people.
• Two lion dancers dress in lion-like costumes. The lion is a symbol of strength and grandeur in Chinese mythology, and the lion dance often imitates comic stories, such as the tale of a clumsy monk helping a lion find a piece of lettuce.
• The two lion dancers synchronize with traditional Chinese drumming.

Organize a Lantern Festival. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, various games are organized among beautifully decorated paper lanterns. Some cities even create giant art pieces from many lanterns.

• Many people write riddles on the lanterns for children to solve.
• This is also the time when Chinese people eat sweet dumplings filled with a variety of ingredients, known as tangyuan or yuanxiao.
• Light candles on this day to bring more divine spirits into your home.